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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. perch — the fish
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. chest — of your body
  6. spell — a short time
  7. race — the arms race
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. race — a contest
  10. mate — a friend
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — a series
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — magic
  16. mate — a partner
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. mark — a trace
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. race — humankind
  21. pound — a weight
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mate — to breed
  24. chest — of your body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com